All Forum Posts by: Andrew McGibbon

Im a week into my first BRRRR on a fourplex and just got a call from the police that they caught a guy breaking into my fourplex. It is completely vacant and currently being renovated. The units are not livable for another few weeks so getting people in them is not an option at the moment. What security system can be used so I can monitor activity there? Ive also seen some motion sensors that just blast a really loud siren when sensing motion and if I tell the neighbors to call the police if they hear it, that can cause a distraction enough to make people leave? I'm not sure what options I have that can provide good security without having access to WiFi. Thanks for your help everyone!

@Domenick Booker-Pomata I am still looking at refi options as Im a couple months out. There are several great lenders in this town. Im looking for a portfolio lender, that will loan higher than 70% LTV and not make me wait 6 months after I purchase it to refinance it. I have a good lead on one, but don't want to give it out until I know its legit.

Also, Im very happy with the contractor so far but its only  been a few days.  I think anyone is hesitant to give a good contractor away to people for fear of them becoming too busy for them :)  But I'd also rather not give out this until I know how it turns out.  Too early to tell at the moment.

@Domenick Booker-Pomata I am using personal money. Some cash saved and just did a HELOC on my house as I have about $200k in equity in it so I have a $170,000 line of credit plus my cash saved. After the refinance, I will pay back my HELOC completely and as much of my personal money as I can get back.

My first fourplex purchase has actually been going great so far.  When I bought it, I had 1 tenanat, 2 vacant and the 4th unit had a tenant that was 2 months behind so I had to start eviction the day we closed.  We filled the 3 units within about 2 months and it has been going quite good since then.  I have minor vandalism like graffiti but nothing major yet.  Also, when I had vacant units, I had quite a bit of transients and people sleeping on the property.  Since I filled the units, I have not really had those issues.  The key is to keep people there and the problems mostly stay away.  Vacancy is what brings in the riff raff.

@Domenick Booker-Pomata I think it really depends on the area.  The rougher areas near the fairgrounds or SE of Albuquerque, dont see a lot of help in the rent from the outdated units to a nicer unit, so you definitely dont want to overspend in the rougher areas.  Your best bang for buck would be just newer flooring, nicer appliances and clean overall.  In the nicer areas like in the farther NE part of Albuquerque or in Rio Rancho, you will do much better with the same things but updated bathrooms and countertops, etc...  You can add value in those areas better than in the lower income areas.

Thank you @Laura Casillas. I am a Realtor in Albuquerque, so everything I've found so far has just been keeping an eye on MLS. I have not done any other marketing or looking at doing anything else yet. I may in the future, but at the moment am pretty busy running my real estate business.

My story will sound a lot like yours Mark.  Thank you for the good information.  I bought my first fourplex last March so I've been doing this for less than a year.  This will be my second fourplex and they are both in the same, fairly rough area near our fairgrounds.  Louisiana and Copper area.  North of Central but South of Lomas.  My first one I bought last year were all 1 bedroom units but renting for $525 average and I purchased the property for $130,000.  Fairly new roof and didn't really need much work.  I did 1 hot water heater and a few small things to get them all rented.  Its been a great one so far in the cash flow department.

This new one is one street over from my other one I own but it is a 2 story and 2bd units. Mine is in similar condition to how yours was. No meters, stolen plumbing, busted windows, boarded up and condemned by the city. I paid $134,900 for it(but I get my commission) so closer to $131,000 in actuality. I plan on putting about $45,000 into it. So all in, around $175,000 if Im lucky. An appraisal at $185,000 would put me at being able to pull back out basically the purchase price so around $130,000. I'll leave my $45,000 in it which isn't ideal, nor really a good BRRRR but the numbers should still work pretty well. Its a little disheartening hearing you had a hard time getting $625 for nicely renovated units. Using the numbers of $625 per unit and leaving $45,000 in the deal, with a $130,000 mortgage, my spreadsheet says I should be able to make about 14% on my money after all expenses.(not including appreciation, tax help, principal paydown, etc...) So still a solid purchase. I am just hoping to be able to pull more of my money out so that Im able to do this again sooner and keep looking for deals. Thanks for the information. Work on mine starts next week!

I close on a fourplex in Albuquerque on Thursday that is boarded up and condemned. Needs a lot of work. I got it "cheap" but not nearly as cheap as I would like. Im not sure how well its going to work out to be honest in the BRRRR department, but that is the goal. I plan on making videos of the entire process but that will obviously take a few months to complete. If you give it a couple months, I can share all the data. Let me know if you have questions in the meantime.